Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943

paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" inPsychological Review.[2] Maslow subsequently extended the

idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories

of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in

humans. Maslow used the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, Self-

Actualization and Self-Transcendence needs to describe the pattern that human motivations

generally move through.

Maslow studied what he called exemplary people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams,Eleanor

Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglassrather than mentally ill or neurotic people, writing that "the study

of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a

cripple philosophy. Maslow studied the healthiest 1% of the college student population.

Maslow's theory was fully expressed in his 1954 book Motivation and Personality.] While the

hierarchy remains a very popular framework in sociology research, management

training and secondary and higher psychology instruction, it has largely been supplanted

by attachment theory in graduate and clinical psychology and psychiatry.

how to self-actualized.

To become self-actualized means that you are living to your true potential. The term was coined by

Abraham Maslow back in 1954, when he wrote about the ‘hierarchy of needs’. In this hierarchy,

people have the ability to pass through different levels of growth from biological/physiological needs

at the bottom through levels of ‘safety’, belonging/love, and self-esteem to finally reaching the final

level of growth which he called self-actualization.

Maslow was particularly interested in this group and he estimated that only one in a hundred people

would ever obtain this level. People who have obtained self-actualization typically have some

common qualities, including the ability to see life more clearly and to put others’ needs before their

own. They also share other qualities including a well-developed or even quirky sense of humor, a

distinct need for solitude, spontaneity and high levels of acceptance of both themselves and others.

If you would like to achieve this highest level of personal development, Maslow has taught us that

there are some effective methods that will allow you to reach self-actualization:

1. Experience life fully and vividly

Maslow taught us that the process of self-actualization begins when we start to become completely

immersed in our experiences – living fully, vividly and selflessly.

2. Be honest in your choices

Think of life as a series of choices, one after another. If you are being truthful with yourself as you

make your choices, then you are on the way to being self-actualized.

3. Be aware of the uniqueness of yourself

As you realize that you are unique and begin to learn how to express yourself and your feelings

truthfully, rather than reflect what you believe others want you to do or say, then you are on the right

path.

4. Act with integrity

If you have a choice, act in a way that is honest and true to your nature. As you take responsibility

for your own actions you will be working on the way to self-actualization.

5. Be courageous

Learn to have the courage to express your likes and dislikes and to speak up if someone’s actions

are not pleasing to you.

6. Self-development

Becoming self-actualized is not an end-state, rather it is a process. Maslow talked about it being the

process by which you ‘are working to do well the thing that one wants to do’.

7. Peak experiences

Maslow talked a lot about ‘peak experiences’, describing them as ‘transient moments of self-

actualization’. These experiences are times that you feel truly at peace and in harmony with your

environment and the universe and are marked by a feeling of euphoria and deep joy.

8. Lack of ego defenses

Learning to let go of troublesome defense mechanisms that you may use to protect yourself is a

necessary part of this process. For example, if you have a tendency to blame your partner for your

frustrations or to become angry when things do not go your way, then learning to react in a different

manner is part of becoming self-actualized.

Maslow’s guidelines are a useful tool, but many people have found that it can be difficult to bring so

much change to bear in their lives with just the force of will. You may find that meditation may be a

very valuable strategy to help you truly integrate Maslow’s ideas into your life. Learning to meditate

is useful in so many ways, not the least of which is that meditation allows you to access your

subconscious mind, gaining access to your inner wisdom. It only takes a short time to learn and

great benefits can be gained from as little as 20 minutes per day. You have within you already the

inner wisdom that will allow you to truly reach self-actualization and practicing meditation will quickly

allow you to reach this goal.

Examples of Defenses MechanismsThere are a large number of defense mechanisms; the main ones are

summarized below.

* ProjectionThis involves individuals attributing their own thoughts, feeling and motives to

another person.  Thoughts most commonly projected onto another are ones that

would cause guilt such as aggressive and sexual fantasies or thoughts.  For

instance, you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred

is unacceptable.  You can 'solve' the problem by believing that they hate you.

* SublimationThis is similar to displacement, but takes place when we manage to displace our

emotions into a constructive rather than destructive activity.  This might for

example be artistic.  Many great artists and musicians have had unhappy lives

and have used the medium of art of music to express themselves.  Sport is

another example of putting our emotions (e.g. aggression) into something

constructive.

For example, fixation at the oral stage of development may later lead to seeking

oral pleasure as an adult through sucking ones thumb, pen or cigarette.  Also,

fixation during the anal stage may cause a person to sublimate their desire to

handle faeces with an enjoyment of pottery.

Sublimation for Freud was the cornerstone of civilized life, arts and science are

all sublimated sexuality.  (NB. this is a value laden concept, based on the

aspirations of a European society at the end of the 1800 century).

Sigmund freud A defense mechanism is the act or technique of coping mechanisms that reduce anxiety generated

by threats from unacceptable or negative impulses. Defence mechanisms, which are unconscious,

are not to be confused with conscious coping strategies. Sigmund Freud was one of the first

proponents of this construct.

Defense mechanisms may result in healthy or unhealthy consequences depending on the

circumstances and frequency the mechanism is used. In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defense

mechanisms are psychological strategies brought into play by the unconscious mind to manipulate,

deny, or distort reality in order to defend against feelings of anxiety and unacceptable impulses to

maintain one's self schema. These processes that manipulate, deny, or distort reality may include

the following: repression, or the burying of a painful feeling or thought from one's awareness even

though it may resurface in a symbolic form; identification, incorporating an object or thought into

oneself. and rationalization, the justification of one's behavior and motivations by substituting "good"

acceptable reasons for the motivations. Generally, repression is considered the basis for other

defense mechanisms.

Healthy persons normally use different defenses throughout life. An egodefence mechanism

becomes pathological only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behaviour such that the

physical or mental health of the individual is adversely affected. The purpose of ego defence

mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety and/or social sanctions and/or to provide a

refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently cope. One resource used to evaluate these

mechanisms is the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40).

Defense mechanisms are distinct from coping strategies in that the former are largely unconscious

mechanisms which are activated in times of anxiety, stress and distress without any choice or

conscious intentionality, while the latter are conscious strategies that are chosen in calm emotional

states. Coping thus involves flexibility and defenses are more rigid, distort logistics, are unstoppable

and their goal is to reduce anxiety not to solve the source of the anxiety.

Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information.

People use explicit memory throughout the day, such as remembering the time of an appointment or

recollecting an event from years ago.

MEMORY*****

Explicit memory involves conscious recollection, compared with implicit memory which is an

unconscious, unintentional form of memory. Remembering a specific driving lesson is an example of

explicit memory, while improved driving skill as a result of the lesson is an example of implicit

memory.

**Intelligence encompasses a number of mental abilities such as reasoning, planning and problem-solving. The topic of intelligence is one of the biggest and most debated in psychology

“ everybody is genius but If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live it’s

whole life that it is stupid”

-Albert Einstein.

* Extraversion is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. Extraverts enjoy being with people, are full of energy, and often experience positive emotions. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented, individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's go!" to opportunities for excitement. In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to themselves.

Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts. They tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and disengaged from the social world. Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression; the introvert simply needs less stimulation than an extravert and prefers to be alone. The independence and reserve of the introvert is sometimes mistaken as unfriendliness or arrogance. In reality, an introvert who scores high on the agreeableness dimension will not seek others out but will be quite pleasant when approached.

*AgreeablenessAgreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are therefore considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others'. Agreeable people also have an optimistic view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy.

Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally unconcerned with others' well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative.

Agreeableness is obviously advantageous for attaining and maintaining popularity. Agreeable people are better liked than disagreeable people. On the other hand, agreeableness is not useful in situations that require tough or absolute objective decisions. Disagreeable people can make excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.

*ConscientiousnessConscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our impulses. Impulses are not inherently bad; occasionally time constraints require a snap decision, and acting on our first impulse can be an effective response. Also, in times of play rather than work, acting spontaneously and impulsively can be fun. Impulsive individuals can be seen by others as colorful, fun-to-be-with, and zany.

Nonetheless, acting on impulse can lead to trouble in a number of ways. Some impulses are antisocial. Uncontrolled antisocial acts not only harm other members of society, but also can result in retribution toward the perpetrator of such impulsive acts. Another problem with impulsive acts is that they often produce immediate rewards but undesirable, long-term consequences. Examples include excessive socializing that leads to being fired from one's job, hurling an insult that causes the breakup of an important relationship, or using pleasure-inducing drugs that eventually destroy one's health.

Impulsive behavior, even when not seriously destructive, diminishes a person's effectiveness in

significant ways. Acting impulsively disallows contemplating alternative courses of action, some of which would have been wiser than the impulsive choice. Impulsivity also sidetracks people during projects that require organized sequences of steps or stages. Accomplishments of an impulsive person are therefore small, scattered, and inconsistent.

A hallmark of intelligence, what potentially separates human beings from earlier life forms, is the ability to think about future consequences before acting on an impulse. Intelligent activity involves contemplation of long-range goals, organizing and planning routes to these goals, and persisting toward one's goals in the face of short-lived impulses to the contrary. The idea that intelligence involves impulse control is nicely captured by the term prudence, an alternative label for the Conscientiousness domain. Prudent means both wise and cautious. Persons who score high on the Conscientiousness scale are, in fact, perceived by others as intelligent.

The benefits of high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious individuals avoid trouble and achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence. They are also positively regarded by others as intelligent and reliable. On the negative side, they can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. Furthermore, extremely conscientious individuals might be regarded as stuffy and boring. Unconscientious people may be criticized for their unreliability, lack of ambition, and failure to stay within the lines, but they will experience many short-lived pleasures and they will never be called stuffy.

*NeuroticismFreud originally used the term neurosis to describe a condition marked by mental distress, emotional suffering, and an inability to cope effectively with the normal demands of life. He suggested that everyone shows some signs of neurosis, but that we differ in our degree of suffering and our specific symptoms of distress. Today neuroticism refers to the tendency to experience negative feelings.

Those who score high on Neuroticism may experience primarily one specific negative feeling such as anxiety, anger, or depression, but are likely to experience several of these emotions. People high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive. They respond emotionally to events that would not affect most people, and their reactions tend to be more intense than normal. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood. These problems in emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress.

At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings does not mean that low scorers experience a lot of positive feelings; frequency of positive emotions is a component of the Extraversion domain.

*Openness to experience.Openness to Experience describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. Open people are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more aware of their feelings. They tend to think and act in individualistic and nonconforming ways. Intellectuals typically score high on Openness to Experience; consequently, this factor has also been called Culture or Intellect. Nonetheless, Intellect is probably best regarded as one aspect of openness to experience. Scores on Openness to Experience are only modestly related to years of education and scores on standard intelligent tests.

Another characteristic of the open cognitive style is a facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions far removed from concrete experience. Depending on the individual's specific intellectual abilities, this symbolic cognition may take the form of mathematical, logical, or geometric thinking, artistic and metaphorical use of language, music composition or performance, or one of the many visual or performing arts. People with low scores on openness to experience tend to have narrow, common interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty; they are conservative and resistant to change.